Trying to do something to make a change

Instead of just sitting around watching the kaos in Haiti, a group of gorgeous young women are helping me put together hygiene kits to send to the people in Haiti. Our goal is to put together 300 kits by next Wednesday! We need the following items: 900 sealed toothbrushes, 300 tubes of 6 to 8 oz. sized toothpaste (no pumps), 600 bars of 3.5 to 5 oz. soap, 600 hand towels(approximately 15x25 in.), and 600 unbreakable combs without sharp handles. Money donations will be accepted as well! Please call: 801-699-2322 if you can help us!

News flash! My book is so popular now, people are stealing it!

I don't know if I just be mad or flattered. I am in a book swapping club and a member in New York requested a copy of my book, "The Power of a Penny." I received a notice this morning that all she received was an empty envelope and a note from the post office saying they damaged it. But where is the book? Someone actually opened the envelope and stole my book!

Listen up! Who ever stole the book, I will forgive you on one condition.....read my book and tell all your friends and family to BUY the book!

So much for a secure mailing system!

My heart is in Haiti

As I watch the devasting news of the horrible things going on in Haiti right now, my heart aches to be there to help those poor people. I feel so helpless not knowing how to help. My neighbor, who is a doctor, has been trying to go since the first earthquake happened but hasn't been able to find a way to get into Haiti. I have a jar full of pennies I have been saving for a rainy day that I can send, but I feel like that isn't enough. My husband would love to bring home several of the orphaned children. When I hear stories of the things these kids are going through, I think I would too, but how do you make it happen?
I made a You Tube video a few months ago when some people criticized me for sending some of the proceeds of my book, "The Power Of A Penny: The Priceless Journey Of One Penny," to Kenya to help with the people who are struggling there. In that video I asked the question, "What are you doing to make a change?" Right now I feel like a hypocrite because I am doing nothing to help the Haitian people. As I sit here in my nice warm house, with a belly full of food and a full cup of water, I try to push the images of the children in Haiti that have been shown on the news the last few days.
I guess I need to take my own advice from the You Tube video, " Don't just sit there, do something to make a difference!"

Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln

The U.S. Mint just put out a statement that said the new Penny design will be released on February 11th, 2010. That is exactly one day before the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth. Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln! I wonder if President Lincoln would like all the fuss about a coin honoring him. He was a simple man who probably would want to for go all the fan fare. But this really is a momentous occasion! The old penny with the Lincoln Memorial on the back is no longer going to be produced.
I wonder if any of my great, great grandchildren will search through their pocket full of coins to see if they have one of those old pennies featuring the Memorial on it like I look for the pennies with the wheat on the back. Who knows what is going to happen in the future.... coins may no longer be around, for that matter tangible money may not be around either with the technology that is being developed.
I am so amazed with the machines that are being used today. Just before Christmas, we took our kids to Sea World in San Diego, California. When we got to the gate there were two machines waiting to greet us after we spent seventy bucks for a two day pass. One scanned each person's entry ticket and another was a biometric finger scanner. It instructed us to put our index finger inside a little box which lit up with a green light and then scanned an image of our finger. Isn't this the amazing technology that was so far out there in spy movies a few years ago? There is a big debate on whether amusement parks should be able to do this because law enforcement agencies could use it. Are these parks trying to reduce their work force or are they searching for terrorists within their parks? It seems a little suspicious to me. I'm sure President Lincoln wouldn't approve. In his day if you wanted to talk to your neighbor, you walked over to talk to them, you didn't text them. When you bought groceries at a store, you walked up to the counter and the clerk knew you by name and asked you how your children were. Now you have to scan your own groceries and have a machine scold you for not placing an item in the bagging area.
You would think the cost of things would go down now that companies aren't having to pay employees to do the work. All this just makes the penny worth more in my opinion because you never know how much longer it will be around.

A New Year and a new penny!

Happy New Year! I had the most amazing holiday season ever! I feel so blessed to be able to spend it with family and friends. I didn't get any high dollar gifts like in years past, but I received the best gift of all, the knowledge that the Christmas season is truely about spending time with family and friends. We went to our cabin above Park City and played games, built the annual sledding course and ate tons of junk food while sitting next to a roaring fire!

Now that 2010 is here, I look forward to many new adventures! I also look forward to finding one of the brand new 2010 pennies that will replace the old one I grew up with. The Lincoln memorial on the reverse of the penny will be replaced by a shield with thirteen vertical stripes which represents the thirteen colonies which united after the Civil war to make the United States of America. The words, "E Pluribus Unum," are written at the top of the shield which means, "Out of many, one..."

This year, I hope to tell as many people as I can about Koins for Kenya so, "out of many, one ..." can be unified as a family on this earth helping our brothers and sisters in need, even if they live across an ocean on another continent with the "The Power Of A Penny."